Survey of Punishments in Sassanied Period

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Survey of Punishments in Sassanied Period Abasali Razavi, Mohamad Taghi Fazelei, Farokh Rezaei And Hatam Musaei 1 Department of History, ABSTRACT Shoushtar Branch, Islamic Azad In ancient Iran, during Sassanid period, there were three kinds of religious, political, and general University, Shoushtar, Iran crimes. The way, in which religious crimes were dealt with, depended on the relationship between king and clergymen or in other words politics and religion. For instance, Mani, an Address For Correspondence: Iranian prophet, was tried by a Zoroastrian priest (mobed) and faced execution because punishment for religious crimes like heresy was execution. So was the punishment for political Abasali Razavi, Department of crimes like betrayal of king. With regard to the third kind of crimes which include homicide, History, Shoushtar Branch, rape, robbery, harassment, etc, punishments had a variety of forms such as torture, physical Islamic Azad University, harassment, incarceration, whipping, tying with hot chains and in cases of high crime severity, Shoushtar, Iran execution. Generally, since ethical code and rights were dependent on religion, clergymen judged the cases. In other words, they were in charge of judgment in cities. Received: 6 March 2015 Accepted: 25 April 2015 Published: 29 May 2015 KEY WORDS:

INTRODUCTION

During Sassanid period, many bizarre and horrendous punishments and tortures were reported including: cutting convicts’ hands and legs, tying to horse tail, putting ropes through prisoners’ shoulders, cutting off skin, piercing and putting bridle through ears and noses, putting collars in mouths, cutting open bodies and adding salt and vinegar to their wounds. The present study mainly aims to gain an understanding of various kinds of punishments and ways, in which they were imposed during Sassanid period. It also aims to figure out how verdicts were given, who delivered them, what factors played roles in implementing them, and also how Diyya (financial compensation) and fines were imposed.

Examination of Punishments during Sassanid Period: Whipping, Blinding, Mutilating, and Fining: Punishment: on the basis of religious convictions, the ancient Iranians were submissive and believed that man has free will and is a free agent. That is, it is up to him/her to be a friend of Hormuz and find salvation or to make friends with Angra Mainyu (Ahriman or Devil) and be doomed to retribution. Ancient Iranians had set worldly punishments on these three bases: Repentance, Tazkiye (Purification), and Fine. Repentance or feeling of inner regret: it was important because it purified the soul of sinners and prevented them from being punished in the hereafter. Not only should repentant sinner keep away from evil deed but also he/she should perform good deed in return. Purification: by means of purification, which was conducted through some religious ceremonies, evil spirits were driven away. Fine: with regard to fine it should be noted that some sins were considered as unforgivable. That is, in this world, they deserved to be punished by execution, and in the hereafter deserved retribution. They included banditry and scavenging. These crimes were punished by execution, and in few cases with physical punishment and fine. For instance, illegal intercourse was faced with a heavy fine. Also, adultery was punished by a 12000 Dirham. In case a man abducted a woman and then had intercourse with her, the fine was 50 and 700 Dirham for abduction and intercourse, respectively. Also the fine for kidnapping a child equaled 600 Dirham. Undoubtedly, these regulations were part of their criminal system which was run by religious advisors.

The Role of Clergymen in Administering Punishments: In general, as ethical code and rights completely depended on religion, clergymen were in charge of judgment. Meanwhile, with regard to financial compensation, the responsibility lied with an alderman. It is not

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known whether there was a collection of written laws or not. But, Zoroastrian holy book consisted of chapters dedicated to the laws pertaining to crimes against king, religion, neighbor, etc. “varah” in Avestan and “var” in Pahlavi comes from “vare” meaning recognizing, and believing. In ancient Iran, this word meant various tests, by means of which the plaintiff and the defendant had to prove their truthfulness. It was because of the fact that in the ancient times discovering truth was difficult and there was no other choice except to use supernatural powers. Also, based on description made by Christian witnesses, horrendous torture was common.

Different Kinds of Crimes and Punishments during Sassanid Period: Political Crime: one of the most common crimes and also of the most significant one was political crimes such as disrespect for king, revolt against the government, etc, whose punishment was of the severest. In some cases of betrayal to king and government, the convict was taken to the court where her/his ears and nose were cut off. Then, after showing him to people, he/she was sent to the place where the deed was done. Military Crime: it was mostly concerned with war evasion. This crime has always had, during all the periods and in most of the ancient societies, the severest of punishment. Punishments, especially execution, didn’t vary considerably during Sassanid and Achaemenid periods except that it was more violent in Sassanid. Severe physical punishments such as execution, blinding, incarceration, whipping, etc, were common, especially in cases concerned with crimes against king or government like espionage and betrayal. These crimes were faced with execution and severe physical torture and harassment such as cutting off nose, ear, tongue, mutilation, crucifixion, live burial, etc. Whenever someone committed crimes against God, religion, king, or country, he was punished by execution. It was conducted through hanging, decapitation, stoning to death, cutting off skin, tying to horse tail, squashing convicts under elephant. Stoning to death was common during Sassanid period while committing homicide was punished by killing by sword. Crimes like betrayal to government and religion faced the punishment of hanging or crucifixion, after which convict’s skin was cut off, filled with straw and hanged over city gates to be a lesson for others.

The Role of Judge in Administering Punishment: During Sassanid period, the main bases of law were Zend Avesta (Avesta interpretations) and a collection of Mobed’s fatwa. The highest rank in legal proceedings was attributed to mobed. In Sassanid’s legal system, in order for legal proceedings not to take too much time, some arrangements were made including providing respites for calling witness to the court of law, forwarding the proceedings to another judge in case the first one couldn’t reach a truthful verdict, and finally testing where judges couldn’t prove someone’s guilt or innocence. The test was made up of two cold and warm forms. The former consisted of drinking water polluted with sulfur means the same as the (سوگند) ”while the latter encompassed passing through fire. The Persian word for “oath cold test did.

Kinds of Punishments and Their Explanation: Compared to today’s punishments, those administered in ancient times were much severer and heavier. Punishment for heresy, betrayal, war evasion, and banditry was execution. With regard to desecration, rape, harassment execution or severe physical punishments were imposed. Commutations were provided for cases such as robbing clothes in cold weather or food in famine. Incarceration was usually used to silently get rid of important political opponents while in cases such as betrayal to religion and king, convicts were crucified. Those burglars, who were caught red-handed, were taken to the court. Then, they hanged the stolen object over his neck, chained and imprisoned him. It should be noted that the number of chains varied on the basis of severity of crime. Also, those parts of body which were more concerned in crime were much more involved in punishment than other body parts. Rather than being a punishment, chains denoted justice. According to a summary provided in Nakazom Nask, it was not common to wear bracelets around wrists of non-Zoroastrian convicts. The odds are that it was personal fatwa of some commentators, rather than beinga public law. Meanwhile, it is often stated in Issawi Martyrs that bracelets and chains were worn on hands of Issawi prisoners. When holding inquests, judges used a kind of deceptive speech and kindness in order to make the convict confess. If a convict informed on his accomplices, he would be rewarded while if he hid the stolen object, the punishment was the same as that for stealing. Local and foreign burglars were not treated equally in terms of cloths in cold days and medicine in sickness times. Kanazom Nask widely addressed prosecutions, inquiries, and executions. It is unknown whether or not there was incarceration with specified time. But, there are odds that basic imprisonments lasted for unlimited period of time. According to Kanazom Nask, convicts were held in an unpleasant place where vermin were unleashed to hurt them while their hands and legs were tied as well.

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Incarceration was employed to silently remove those high ranking figures, whose presence endangered king or government. For instance, a castle in Khuzestan named Andimeshk, Anoushbord, or also Oblivion castle was used for the same purpose. Blinding was one of the most common punishments imposed especially on rebellious princesses. Blinding was done by putting a hot needle or pouring molten oil into eyes. Ammianus related that it was common among Iranians to cut off all or part of convicts’ skin. Also, Veprokius related that they cut off an Armenian general’s skin, filled it with straw and hanged it over a tree. Putting convicts beneath elephant to be squashed was of the ancient punishments which was common in Sassanid period and was reported to be implemented in Islamic times as well. Also, according to Nokazom Nask, convicts sentenced to death were sometimes kept alive for medical purposes. Various kinds and forms of horrendous and severe torture used by judges are presented in Issawi Martyrs. To intimidate convicts, torture tools were spread out in front them. Prisoners were sometimes hanged by their toes, overturned while they were beaten by whips made from ox hide. Their wounds were filled with salt and vinegar. Their body parts and skin were cut off and their skin was sometimes cut off from the forehead to the chin. Also, their scalp and the skin of their hands were peeled, molten lead was poured into their eyes and ears, their tongues were pulled out of their mouths. As an example, an Issawi Martyr’s neck was pierced making a hole, from which his tongue was pulled out. They also put needles in convicts’ eyes and bodies. Vinegar and mustard were poured into their mouth and eyes.

Blinding: It was one of the punishments allocated to those princesses who were rebellious. Not only was this punishment used during Sassanid period, but it also was employed in the Middle Ages.

Mutilation: One of the most horrendous tortures was Nine Death, during which an executioner cut convicts’ toes and fingers, wrists and ankles, elbows and knees, ears and noses, and finally their head, respectively. Then, the mutilated body was thrown away to wild animals. It was often imposed on Issawis. In some cases, this horrific punishment was limited to cutting off body parts.

Conclusion: Considering studies conducted on the basis of various resources, it become clear that from the beginning, great kings had figured out that administering justice was impossible without a set of social rules and regulations. In a sense, justice is nothing but enforcing law and punishing those who break it. All of the early history legislators in old countries attributed their statutory rules to gods pretending that they were revelations. In the same period, there were horrendous punishments for convicts including: stoning to death, cutting off scalp, mutilating body parts, blinding, execution, incarceration, etc. In this period, if the punishment was of an initial kind, it would be administered by clergymen and mobeds who played the role of judges.

REFERENCES

Arthur Christensen, 1997. Iran during Sassanid, translated by Rashid Yasmie, Amir Kabir Pubs. Qadyanie, Abbas, 2005. Iran’s History, Civilization, and Culture during Sassanid Period, Maktoub Pubs. Pirniya, Abbas Eqbal, 1991. Iran’s History from Beginning to the End of Qajar, Khayam Pubs. Pirniya, Hassa, 2014. Iran’s Pre-Islam History, Sepehr Adab Pubs. Ghirshamn, Roman, 1934. Iran: from the earliest times to the Islamic conquest, Sepehr Adab Pubs. Ravandie, Morteza, 1968. Law and Justice in Iran, Amir Kabir Pubs. Durant, Will, 1986. The Story of Civilization.